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I agree with all of that.
However if we are comparing who the actual fighter was, we must have them fight under a neutral, in between, or under both rule sets.
If we reincarnate them it is possible we allow them to benefit from new techniques, but that is not as "pure" as seeing who they areally were.
Likewise letting them change or transform their body would be another, I think step further, distance away from evaluating who was better head to head.

 

I would conclude that Ali's style isn't suited for beating a similar but much smaller opponent whose even faster and more elusive. Ali struggled to initiate offense and didn't like being the person leading (look at the Young fight). He hated being jabbed at (Norton fight). This suggests that a defensive opponent with a good jab and good speed would give Ali problems. Styles make fights.

Ali would be like a lion trying to catch a cheetah. Both are very fast, but in a contest of speed, the lion has no chance of tagging a fleeing cheetah. Too big and powerfully built. It would be foolish for a big man to try to beat a little man in a contest of speed or technique, you impose your size on them. Unfortunately for Ali, he couldn't really fight outside of his comfort zone and wouldn't be able to suddenly transform himself into an aggressive fighter punching hard off the front foot.

The only thing that would shock me is if Ali was unable to stop the much smaller and less durable guy. Ali stopped several smaller heavies like Patterson, London, Cooper, etc.

 

I don't agree, the only thing I'd give Ali is jab.

 

There are two problems with this reckoning.
First, the peak HW versions of both fighters were not far apart in size.
Almost exactly 20 lbs. between them.
And it seems like only 1 & 1/2" in height, & maybe 2" in wingspan.

Tunney has multiple listings at 6'1.5". If this is slightly overstated-& I do not know if it is-we have many folks saying how Ali was really shorter than 6'3", the youtube video with Eastwood where he said he is 6'2"-& his wingspan varies too.
So there is no huge gap in size between the two, not at all.
Significant, not very large.

Also I believe Ali was faster than Tunney.
At least HW Tunney-& i would say Patterson is also faster than Tunney.
No dramatic difference either way, but i cannot give Tunney the edge in hand or foot speed.

 

Personally, I'd believe it was one of those weird fights that sometimes happens in boxing, for various reasons. Then I'd be joining in the cry for a rematch, leading to, at the very least, a trilogy. Since these are Fantasy Fights, we might even be able to get a 7 fight series going, of which (after already losing the 1st one) I'd expect Muhammad Ali to win 6 times.

 

Adding to this, Ali didn't have that sledgehammer uppercut to make shorter fighters fear getting closer. The only thing Tunney would have to worry about while throwing the straight right to the chest is Ali's pull counter right hand. Ali's issue is that the pull counter is better on men your own size, not guys 3 inches shorter with quick feet who are ducking low and off the center line as they throw their own punches. If Tunney can slip past Ali's right straight, he'd have nothing to fear from the right side of Ali's body.

 

Tunney was between 186-192 at HW.

Average weight: 189

Most listings have him at 6 ft even. Both boxrec and wikipedia have that height

1967 Ali was 212 lbs. Nearly 25 lbs of muscle heavier than Tunney's average weight. That isn't anything you can gloss over when comparing the overall mass and size between two fighters, especially because 60's Ali was in excellent shape and had hardly any fat at all.

There's plenty of reason to believe Ali was 6'3 given he is able to look other 6'3 boxers right in the eyes (Norton, Foreman, Lyle, etc).

Jimmy Ellis and Jerry Quarry we're throwback heavyweights being 6'0 like Tunney and would have been cruisers today. Ali towered over them and bullied them with his size. Unless you think Tunney was far more muscular and massive than Ellis and Quarry, I'm not sure how you think he's close to the same size as Ali.

I didn't say Tunney had faster feet or hands than Ali by the way, I was saying it's awkward for a big man to go on offense chasing around a smaller guy who doesn't want to be hit. Ali wasn't good at initiating offense.

 

You may not have intended to say what your words mean, but you did say about Tunney, right at the start of your post,
"I would conclude that Ali's style isn't suited for beating a similar but much smaller opponent whose even faster and more elusive".
That means you were saying Tunney is faster, at least overall.

I did say Ali was their difference in size is significant, but not very large.
The debate about precise heights is endless. For example, looking someone in the eyes is not exact, the exact height of Norton & Foreman is debatable-but Ali did say he was 6' 2", I think someone here wrote that Dundee said something similar, anyway heights tend to be rounded up by most everyone.
It is just unfair-without good cause-to only take the largest listed height of

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guy.
If Tunney was only 6', then I would bet that the difference in height was 2.5"-1" more than I said.

Fair enough that Tunney averaged just shy of 190, but anyway using your numbers you get 23, again marginally different than my "almost exactly 20 lbs.".
Although if fighting a bigger man/Ali, he may well come in at least what he did at HW before: precisely 20 lbs. less than Ali/192.

Ali was very fit in the '60's, both boxers would be around the same body fat.
BUT you cannot have it both ways re: height & muscle mass.
If one guy is taller & everything else being equal, that is not 20 lbs. of muscle-Even assuming the height differential is the tiny bit less than you attributed, around exactly 1/2 of the difference in weight would be attributed to being taller.

Anywho, Ali is bigger structurally, the difference would be noticeable, just not dramatically so.
You agree that Ali-& Patterson-are faster than Tunney?
Although being smaller & less of a target can contribute to being elusive...

 

Those odds seem reasonable.

 

Tunney thought he’d whoop Ali’s ass. Love that about former champs. Most never lose that competitive edge.
To answer the ops question I’d have to put Tunney in the top 5 p4p ever. I’m actually surprised he doesn’t get more love in the department considering he beat Harry “the Goat” Greb and Jack Dempsey. Wish he had fought one other top guy like Sharkey or Schmeling before calling it quits.

 

Not the lead right? The pull counter? Turning his head with the punch and countering? Doubling up on hooks and straight rights? Combinations?

All the above to Ali without a single doubt in my mind, comparing with Tunney against Dempsey.

 

For those who keep saying Doug Jones, Ali had just turned 21 when he fought Doug Jones.

Ali didn't fill out until a couple years later, in 1965-1966.

The OP said a prime Ali in 1967.